Gov. Chris Christie / AP

Written by

John Schoonejongen

Gannett News Service

David Wildstein

INSIDE

The man at the center of the bridge scandal said “evidence exists” that Gov. Chris Christie knew of the George Washington Bridge access lane closings as they were happening.

The governor’s office denied the allegation, arguing the statement from David Wildstein’s attorney actually supported Christie’s story. Wildstein is the former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official who has been blamed for the lane closures, which are believe to have been politically motivated.

The letter from Wildstein’s attorney, dated Friday, says “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the Governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference he gave immediately before Mr. Wildstein was scheduled to appear before the Transportation Committee.”

“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter also reads.

The letter, from attorney Alan Zegas and addressed to the Port Authority, seeks a reconsideration of the authority’s decision to not pay Wildstein’s legal fees.

Christie’s press office distributed a statement that said the governor “had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures.”

“Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein’s motivations were for closing them to begin with,’’ the statement said. “As the governor said in a December 13th press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his January 9th press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of January 8th. The governor denies Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer’s other assertions.”

Zegas’ letter sent shock waves through New Jersey’s political community, with one veteran pundit saying the revelation was a “bombshell.”

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“Most of us who have watched this governor over the past several weeks anticipated this, given his demeanor has been rather un-Christie-like,” said Brigid Callahan Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University.

Wildstein has been central in the probe into the lane closings, which occurred in September and snarled traffic in Fort Lee for hours each morning over a period of four days. The closings led some Democrats to say the incident was meant as political retribution because the Fort Lee mayor declined to endorse Christie’s re-election bid.

The lane closings are now being investigated by a joint committee of the Legislature, which issued 20 subpoenas seeking documents related to the incident. A number of those subpoenas were issued to members of the governor’s staff and his campaign. The U.S. Attorney’s office has also issued subpoenas to the state Republican Party and the Christie campaign, seeking similar documents.

The reaction from the Democratic co-chairs of the investigative committee was muted.

“We have read the letter from Mr. Wildstein’s attorney and will consider it as our investigation moves forward,” read a statement from both state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex.

Originally, Wildstein, Christie and others claimed the closings were the result of a traffic study, but emails released earlier this month showed the closings were discussed between Wildstein and a deputy chief of staff to Christie, Bridget Anne Kelly, in August.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Kelly wrote to Wildstein.

“Got it,” Wildstein replied.

When the emails first became public on Jan. 8, Christie’s office released a prepared statement in which the governor indicated he didn’t know about his staff’s involvement until that day.

The next day, Christie held a two-hour press conference during which he said he had no prior knowledge of the incident. He also announced he fired Kelly. Wildstein, a long-time Christie ally, had already resigned from the authority.

At that Jan. 9 press conference, Christie spent part of the two-hour session distancing himself from Wildstein, a former Livingston High School classmate who rode Christie’s coattails to land a high-paying job at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christie said he and Wildstein were not friends in high school.

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